U.S. patent application number 14/291965 was filed with the patent office on 2015-12-03 for device and method for wifi scan optimization.
This patent application is currently assigned to APPLE INC.. The applicant listed for this patent is APPLE INC.. Invention is credited to Kapil CHHABRA.
Application Number | 20150351012 14/291965 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 54703437 |
Filed Date | 2015-12-03 |
United States Patent
Application |
20150351012 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
CHHABRA; Kapil |
December 3, 2015 |
Device and Method for WiFi Scan Optimization
Abstract
A method and wireless station used to perform WiFi scans. The
wireless station determines a first cell identity of a first cell
to which the wireless station is currently connected, determines a
second cell identity of a second cell that is available, determines
whether either of the first or second cell identities are related
to a WiFi network based on relationships between cell identities
and WiFi networks stored in the wireless station, performs a first
type of scan for available WiFi networks when either of the first
cell identity or the second cell identity is related to the WiFi
network and performs a second type of scan for available WiFi
networks when neither of the first cell identity or the second cell
identity is related to the WiFi network, the first type of scan is
performed more frequently or over more channels compared to the
second type of scan.
Inventors: |
CHHABRA; Kapil; (CUPERTINO,
CA) |
|
Applicant: |
Name |
City |
State |
Country |
Type |
APPLE INC. |
CUPERTINO |
CA |
US |
|
|
Assignee: |
APPLE INC.
CUPERTINO
CA
|
Family ID: |
54703437 |
Appl. No.: |
14/291965 |
Filed: |
May 30, 2014 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
455/434 |
Current CPC
Class: |
H04W 48/16 20130101;
H04W 88/06 20130101 |
International
Class: |
H04W 48/16 20060101
H04W048/16 |
Claims
1. A method comprising: at a wireless station: determining a first
cell identity of a first cell of a cellular network to which the
wireless station is currently connected; determining a second cell
identity of a second cell of the cellular network that the wireless
station identifies as available to the wireless station;
determining whether either of the first cell identity or the second
cell identity is related to a WiFi network based on a comparison to
relationships between cell identities and WiFi networks stored in
the wireless station; performing a first type of scan for available
WiFi networks when either of the first cell identity or the second
cell identity is related to the WiFi network; and performing a
second type of scan for available WiFi networks when neither of the
first cell identity or the second cell identity is related to the
WiFi network, wherein the first type of scan is performed at least
one of more frequently or over more channels compared to the second
type of scan.
2. The method of claim 1, further comprising: detecting a WiFi
network when performing one of the first and second scans;
automatically connecting to the detected WiFi network, wherein the
automatically connecting includes providing credential information
for the WiFi network that is stored in the wireless station.
3. The method of claim 2, wherein the detecting includes receiving
a beacon from the WiFi network, wherein the beacon includes a Basic
Service Set Identifier (BSSID) and wherein the method further
includes: comparing the BSSID to stored BSSIDs for known WiFi
networks to determine the credential information for the WiFi
network.
4. The method of claim 2, wherein the detecting of the WiFi network
is performed by a WiFi chip of the wireless station.
5. The method of claim 4, wherein a processor of the wireless
station is in a sleep state and when the WiFi network is detected,
the processor is placed in an awake state to perform a portion of
the automatically connecting.
6. The method of claim 2, wherein the credential information
includes one of a user identification and a password.
7. The method of claim 1, further comprising: generating a
relationship database including the relationships between cell
identities and WiFi networks.
8. The method of claim 1, further comprising: receiving, from a
remote source, a relationship database including relationships
between cell identities and WiFi networks.
9. The method of claim 1, wherein the first type of scan is
performed across 35 supported channels in 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz
operating ranges and every 45 seconds and the second type of scan
is performed across channels 1, 6, and 11 in the 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz
operating ranges and every 135 seconds.
10. A station, comprising: a memory arrangement that stores
identities of known WiFi networks and relationships between the
known WiFi networks and cells of cellular networks; a cellular chip
configured to identify cells of cellular networks that are
available for communication with the station; a WiFi chip
configured to scan for WiFi networks that are available for
communication with the station, wherein the WiFi chip performs a
first type of scan for available WiFi networks when the cellular
chip identifies available cells that have relationships with known
WiFi networks and performs a second type of scan for available WiFi
networks when the cellular chip identifies available cells that
have no relationships with known WiFi networks, wherein the first
type of scan is performed at least one of more frequently or over
more channels compared to the second type of scan.
11. The station of claim 10, further comprising: a processor
configured to perform an association procedure to associate with an
available WiFi network when the scans of the WiFi chip identify an
available WiFi network.
12. The station of claim 11, wherein the memory arrangement further
stores credential information for the known WiFi networks and the
association procedure is performed using the stored credential
information without interaction from a user of the station.
13. The station of claim 11, wherein, when the processor is in a
sleep state, the WiFi chip is configured to wake the processor to
perform the association procedure when the WiFi chip identifies an
available WiFi network.
14. The station of claim 11, further comprising: a Universal
Asynchronous Receiver/Transmitter (UART) that communicates the
cells that are available from the cellular chip to the WiFi
chip.
15. The station of claim 11, wherein the processor stores the
identities of the known WiFi networks and relationships between the
known WiFi networks and cells in the memory arrangement by
determining a WiFi network to which the station is currently,
receiving an identification of all cells that are available to the
station when the wireless station is connected to the WiFi network
and storing the relationships between the WiFi network to which the
station is currently connected and all the cells that are available
to the station.
16. A method, comprising: at a wireless station: determining if the
wireless station is currently connected to a WiFi network;
identifying all cells that are available to the wireless station
when the wireless station is connected to the WiFi network; and
storing a reference that relates the WiFi network to all the cells
that are available to the wireless station.
17. The method of claim 16, further comprising: determining, when
the wireless station is connected to the WiFi network, if an
indication of the WiFi network has been previously stored in the
wireless station; and storing an indication of the WiFi network in
the wireless station when it is determined that there is no
indication of the WiFi network stored in the wireless station,
wherein the indication is a Basic Service Set Identifier (BSSID) of
the WiFi network.
18. The method of claim 17, wherein the reference and the
indication are stored in a database in the wireless station.
19. The method of claim 16, further comprising: storing credential
information for the WiFi network in the wireless station.
20. A method comprising: at a wireless station: determining a cell
identity of a cell of a cellular network to which the wireless
station is currently connected; determining whether the cell
identity is related to a WiFi network based on a comparison to
relationships between cell identities and WiFi networks stored in
the wireless station; performing a first type of scan for available
WiFi networks when first cell identity is related to the WiFi
network; and performing a second type of scan for available WiFi
networks when the cell identity is not related to the WiFi network,
wherein the first type of scan is performed at least one of more
frequently or over more channels compared to the second type of
scan.
21. A method comprising: at a wireless station: determining a cell
identity of a cell of a cellular network to which the wireless
station is currently connected; determining whether the cell
identity is related to a WiFi network based on a comparison to
relationships between cell identities and WiFi networks stored in
the wireless station; adjusting a parameter of a WiFi scan based on
whether the cell identity is related to a WiFi network; and
performing the WiFi scan based on the parameter.
Description
BACKGROUND INFORMATION
[0001] A station may establish a connection to a wireless
communications network. The wireless communications network may
include cellular networks, WiFi networks, etc. With WiFi networks,
there may be credentials used for the station to establish a
connection thereto. For example, a user name and/or a password may
be required to be provided. To expedite subsequent connections to a
WiFi network that the station has already connected, the station
may store this credential information and associate the credential
information with identifying information of the WiFi network such
as a basic service set identifier (BSSID). Thus, subsequent
attempts to connect to this WiFi network enable an automatic
connection (requiring no user intervention) to be established when
the station is within an operating area of the WiFi network. The
station may store respective credential information for a plurality
of WiFi networks. For example, the credential information for each
WiFi network may be stored for those that are known (e.g.,
discovered with a prior connection thereto), is indicated as
preferred (manually indicated or determined automatically), etc.
Accordingly, the station may perform the automatic connection
functionality for stored WiFi networks when within the respective
operating area thereof.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0002] FIG. 1 shows an exemplary network arrangement in which a
station monitors channels to establish a connection to a WiFi
network.
[0003] FIG. 2 shows components of an exemplary station configured
to monitor WiFi channels to establish a connection to a WiFi
network.
[0004] FIG. 3 shows an exemplary method for generating an
relationship database that relates cellular information with WiFi
information to be used in monitoring WiFi channels.
[0005] FIG. 4 shows an exemplary table that is representative of an
relationship database with respect to the exemplary network
arrangement of FIG. 1.
[0006] FIG. 5 shows a second exemplary table that is representative
of a fully populated relationship database with respect to the
exemplary network arrangement of FIG. 1.
[0007] FIG. 6 shows an exemplary method for monitoring WiFi
channels based upon cellular information being related with WiFi
information.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
[0008] The exemplary embodiments describe a method performed by a
wireless station including determining a first cell identity of a
first cell of a cellular network to which the wireless station is
currently connected, determining a second cell identity of a second
cell of the cellular network that the wireless station identifies
as available to the wireless station, determining whether either of
the first cell identity or the second cell identity is related to a
WiFi network based on a comparison to relationships between cell
identities and WiFi networks stored in the wireless station,
performing a first type of scan for available WiFi networks when
either of the first cell identity or the second cell identity is
related to the WiFi network and performing a second type of scan
for available WiFi networks when neither of the first cell identity
or the second cell identity is related to the WiFi network, wherein
the first type of scan is performed at least one of more frequently
or over more channels compared to the second type of scan.
[0009] The exemplary embodiments further describe a station having
a memory arrangement that stores identities of known WiFi networks
and relationships between the known WiFi networks and cells of
cellular networks, a cellular chip configured to identify cells of
cellular networks that are available for communication with the
station, and a WiFi chip configured to scan for WiFi networks that
are available for communication with the station, wherein the WiFi
chip performs a first type of scan for available WiFi networks when
the cellular chip identifies available cells that have
relationships with known WiFi networks and performs a second type
of scan for available WiFi networks when the cellular chip
identifies available cells that have no relationships with known
WiFi networks, wherein the first type of scan is performed at least
one of more frequently or over more channels compared to the second
type of scan.
[0010] The exemplary embodiments also describe a method performed
by a wireless station including determining if the wireless station
is currently connected to a WiFi network, identifying all cells
that are available to the wireless station when the wireless
station is connected to the WiFi network and storing a reference
that relates the WiFi network to all the cells that are available
to the wireless station.
[0011] The exemplary embodiments also describe further methods
performed by a wireless station. The first further exemplary method
includes determining a cell identity of a cell of a cellular
network to which the wireless station is currently connected,
determining whether the cell identity is related to a WiFi network
based on a comparison to relationships between cell identities and
WiFi networks stored in the wireless station, performing a first
type of scan for available WiFi networks when first cell identity
is related to the WiFi network and performing a second type of scan
for available WiFi networks when the cell identity is not related
to the WiFi network, wherein the first type of scan is performed at
least one of more frequently or over more channels compared to the
second type of scan. The second further exemplary method includes
determining a cell identity of a cell of a cellular network to
which the wireless station is currently connected, determining
whether the cell identity is related to a WiFi network based on a
comparison to relationships between cell identities and WiFi
networks stored in the wireless station, adjusting a parameter of a
WiFi scan based on whether the cell identity is related to a WiFi
network and performing the WiFi scan based on the parameter.
[0012] The exemplary embodiments may be further understood with
reference to the following description and the related appended
drawings, wherein like elements are provided with the same
reference numerals. The exemplary embodiments are related to a
station and method for optimizing scans that are performed to
determine available WiFi networks. A coarse location estimate may
be used to dynamically select a manner of scanning for available
WiFi networks. In a first aspect, the station and method may
initially generate a WiFi network database that includes each WiFi
network known by the station and relation information that includes
cell information, e.g., cell ID's of base stations in the area of
each of the known WiFi networks. In a second aspect, the station
and method may subsequently utilize the WiFi network database to
dynamically select the manner of scanning for available WiFi
networks. There may be multiple manners of scanning for WiFi
networks that each have different characteristics, e.g., the time
between scans, the frequencies that are scanned, etc. The cell
relation information that includes cell identities may be used to
select the scanning manner to identify any available WiFi
networks.
[0013] A WiFi network may be a wireless communications network that
enables a station to establish a connection thereto and allow the
station to communicate with network components, other networks such
as the Internet, and other stations within the WiFi network as well
as in the other networks. Another generic name for this type of
network may be a wireless local area network ("WLAN"). The WiFi
network may be personal (e.g., a home network), for an enterprise
(e.g., a business network), a HotSpot, etc. The WiFi network may
also be defined by a variety of different specifications such as
IEEE 802.11a/b/g/n/ac. Thus, the term "WiFi network" as used in
this description may refer to any type of wireless network that has
characteristics similar to the networks described above.
[0014] WiFi networks may provide a more efficient connection for
communications to be transmitted with, for example, the Internet
than other types of wireless networks. For example, a connection
established with the WiFi network may provide a transmission speed
in uplink and/or downlink that is greater than a transmission speed
associated with other networks such as a cellular network including
a 3G network, a 4G network, a Long Term Evolution (LTE) network,
etc. However, it should be noted that those skilled in the art
would understand that the comparison in transmission speeds is
dependent upon a variety of factors such as available bandwidth,
traffic, etc. There may also be other reasons such as the cost of
transmitting and receiving data that make WiFi networks preferable
over other types of wireless networks. In view of this generally
more optimal performance for data transmissions, the WiFi network
may be preferred over the cellular networks.
[0015] Each WiFi network may have a unique identifier, for example,
an access point of the WiFi network may transmit a beacon that
advertises a Basic Service Set Identification (BSSID) of the WiFi
network that the access point supports. Thus, when the access point
of the WiFi network broadcasts a beacon, this signal may include
the BSSID of the WiFi network. When the station detects the beacon
including the BSSID, the station may indicate the WiFi network as
discovered in a list of available WiFi networks and display the
list to the user so that the user may select a desired WiFi network
to join. When a selected WiFi network is joined for the first time,
the user of the station may be prompted to provide authentication
information. For example, the WiFi network may include a security
mechanism that requires a login and/or password to be provided for
the station to establish a connection thereto. Upon providing the
authentication information, the station may perform an association
procedure to connect with the WiFi network.
[0016] The WiFi network may also be configured to require the
authentication information to be provided each time the station
attempts to join. In view of this request from the WiFi network,
the station may be configured to provide an automatic connection to
the WiFi network by storing the respective credential information
and retrieving it when the credential request from the WiFi network
is received. For example, the station may detect the beacon that
includes the BSSID. The station may have a stored list of WiFi
networks to which it has previously connected and the corresponding
credential information for these known WiFi networks. Thus, when
the station determines that an available WiFi network is a known
WiFi network, the station may automatically provide the credential
information during the association procedure to connect to the WiFi
network without user intervention. The credential information and
the associated BSSID may be stored, for example, in an relationship
database. An example of an relationship database will be provided
below. Therefore, a seamless manner relative to the user may be
provided to automatically connect to known WiFi networks.
[0017] However, prior to the seamless manner being provided, the
station is required to discover the WiFi network. A preliminary
condition is that the station is within an operating area of the
WiFi network such that the station detects the beacon. The station
may be configured with a discovery mechanism that performs scans to
discover the beacons of any available WiFi networks. These scans
require power to be drawn from a power supply of the station such
as a battery, which is a limited source. Thus, every scan for a
WiFi network that is performed by the station reduces the battery
life of the station.
[0018] FIG. 1 shows an exemplary network arrangement 100 in which a
station monitors channels to establish a connection to a WiFi
network. The network arrangement 100 may relate to a given area in
which various wireless networks are available for connection by the
station. It is noted that the station is not shown in FIG. 1, but
it should be understood that the station may be located anywhere
within the network arrangement 100. The network arrangement 100 may
include a plurality of cells 105-115 and a plurality of WiFi
networks 120-150. It should be noted that the use of cells and WiFi
networks as well as the illustrated number of networks are only
exemplary and the network arrangement 100 may include any number of
cellular and WiFi networks as well as any type of wireless network.
In the exemplary embodiments, it will be described that the WiFi
scanning methods are determined based on relations between the
cells 105-115 and the WiFi networks 120-150. However, those skilled
in the art will understand that the functionalities described
herein could be used to determine scanning methods for other types
of networks (e.g., non WiFi networks) and that these scanning
methods may be based on relations with other types networks (e.g.,
non-cellular relations).
[0019] It should also be noted that the term "cells" is used herein
to describe a discrete network element that may be identified. For
example, each cell 105-115 may refer to a coverage area of a base
station (e.g., Node B, eNode B, etc.) within an individual
carrier's network. Each of these base stations will have a unique
identification (e.g., cell ID) that may be used to uniquely
identify the particular cell. It may also be that the cells 105-115
include base stations from different carriers, e.g., the station
may have a roaming function set such that it connects to base
stations from multiple carriers.
[0020] The cells 105-115 and the WiFi networks 120-150 may be
disposed within the network arrangement 100 in a variety of
manners. As illustrated, the cellular network 105 may have an
operating area that overlaps with an operating area of the cell 110
and an operating area of the cell 115 while the cell 110 may also
have the operating area that overlaps with the operating area of
the cell 115. Accordingly, the network arrangement 100 may include
an area 155 in which only the cell 105 is available; an area 160 in
which only the cell 110 is available; an area 165 in which only the
cell 115 is available; an area 170 in which the operating areas of
cells 105 and 110 overlap such that cells 105 and 110 are
available; an area 175 in which the operating areas of cells 105
and 115 overlap such that the cells 105 and 115 are available; an
area 180 in which the operating areas of the cells 110 and 115
overlap such that the cells 110 and 115 are available; and an area
185 in which the operating areas of cells 105-115 overlap such that
cells 105-115 are all available. The WiFi networks 120-150 may each
have a respective operating area that is within one or more of the
operating areas of the cells 105-115. As illustrated, the WiFi
network 120 may be in the area 155 in which only the cell 105 only
is also available; the WiFi network 125 may be in the area 160 in
which only the cell 110 is available; the WiFi network 130 may be
in the area 165 in which only the cell 115 is available; the WiFi
network 135 may be in the area 170 in which the cells 105 and 110
are available; the WiFi network 140 may be in the area 175 in which
the cells 105 and 115 are available; the WiFi network 145 may be in
the area 180 in which the cells 110 and 115 are available; and the
WiFi network 150 may be in the area 185 in which the cells 105-115
are available.
[0021] It should be noted that the manner in which the cells
105-115 overlap as illustrated in the network arrangement 100 and
the manner in which the WiFi networks 120-150 are disposed in the
network arrangement 100 are only exemplary. Those skilled in the
art will understand that the cells 105-115 may overlap in different
arrangements, may not overlap with each other, may only have two
operating areas that overlap, etc. Those skilled in the art will
also understand that the WiFi networks 120-150 may be disposed in
different areas, have more than one WiFi network within a common
area, have no WiFi network within a particular area, have a WiFi
network at a border of an area, etc. It should also be noted that
the shapes of the operating areas of the cells 105-115 and the WiFi
networks 120-150 are for illustrative purposes only. Those skilled
in the art will understand that the operating areas may be of any
shape, for example, when structures impede signal transmission. It
should further be noted that the sizes of the cells 105-115 and the
WiFi networks 120-150 are only exemplary. For example, the sizes of
each of the operating areas of the cells 105-115 and/or the WiFi
networks may be different. In another example, the size of the
operating areas of the WiFi networks 120-150 are not required to be
smaller than the operating areas of the cells 105-115.
[0022] Within the network arrangement 100, the station may be
disposed in any of the areas 155-185. That is, the station may be
capable of connecting to one of the WiFi networks 120-150 and also
capable of detecting the cells that are available in the given
area. FIG. 2 shows components of an exemplary station 200 that is
disposed in the network arrangement 100 and configured to monitor
WiFi channels to establish a connection to one of the WiFi networks
120-150. Specifically, the station 200 may perform a dynamic
scanning manner based upon detected cells in the given area. The
station 200 may represent any electronic device configured to join
the WiFi networks 120-150 and detect the cells 105-115. For
example, the station 200 may be a portable device such as a
cellular phone, a smartphone, a tablet, a phablet, a laptop, etc.
The station 200 may include a processor 205, a memory arrangement
210, a display device 215, an input/output (I/O) device 220, other
components 230 such as a portable power supply, an audio I/O
device, etc., and a transceiver 230 that includes a WiFi chip 235
and a cellular chip 240 connected to each other using a Universal
Asynchronous Receiver/Transmitter (UART) 245.
[0023] As will be described in greater detail below, the WiFi chip
235 may be configured to perform the scanning method to detect the
beacons from any available WiFi networks. The exemplary embodiments
allow the WiFi chip 235 to dynamically alter the type of scanning
that is performed. Several examples of different scanning types
will be described below. The type of scanning selected will be
based on the cell relation information that corresponds to a coarse
location of the station. It should be noted that the use of the
WiFi chip 235 to determine the type of scanning that is used is
only exemplary and other components of the station may participate
with the WiFi chip 235 in the determination or may perform the
entirety of the determination of the type of scanning.
[0024] The memory arrangement 210 may be a hardware component
configured to store data related to operations performed by the
station 200. For example, the memory arrangement 200 may store the
relationship database that is used by the WiFi chip 235 that
includes the cellular information relations with the WiFi networks.
The display device 215 may be a hardware component configured to
show data to a user while I/O device 220 may be a hardware
component configured to receive inputs from the user and output
corresponding data such as a hostname request. For example, when
one of the WiFi networks 120-150 is first joined and credential
information is required, a prompt for the request of the credential
information may be shown on the display device 215 and the user may
provide the credential information via the I/O device 220. The
other components 225 may include a portable power supply (e.g.,
battery), a data acquisition device, ports to electrically connect
the remote station 140 to other electronic devices, etc.
[0025] The transceiver 230 may enable the station 200 to
communicate with the cells 105-115 and the WiFi networks 120-150.
Specifically, the transceiver 230 may include the WiFi chip 235 for
communications with the WiFi networks 120-150 and the cellular chip
240 for communications with the cells 120-150. Those skilled in the
art will understand that the WiFi chip 235 and the cellular chip
240 may operate at frequencies in which the WiFi networks 120-150
and the cells 105-115 operate, respectively, for signals to be
propagated. The UART 245 may be a connection component (e.g., an
integrated circuit) that translates data between the WiFi chip 235
and the cellular chip 240. As will be described in further below,
the use of the UART 245 may provide an exemplary embodiment in
which the WiFi chip 235 may be awakened by the cellular chip 240
upon discovery of at least one of the cells 105-115. It should be
noted that the use of the UART for communication between the
cellular chip 240 and WiFi chip 235 is only exemplary and other
manners of communicating data or information between the chips may
be used.
[0026] In a first aspect of the exemplary embodiments, the station
200 may generate the relationship database. FIG. 3 shows an
exemplary method 300 for generating the relationship database. The
method 300 will be described with reference to the network
arrangement 100 of FIG. 1, the station 200 of FIG. 2 and the
exemplary relationship databases represented in FIGS. 4 and 5.
[0027] In step 305, the station 200 determines whether it is
currently connected to a WiFi network. If the station 200 is not
currently connected to a WiFi network, the method 300 loops until
the station is connected to a WiFi network. If the station 200 is
connected to a WiFi network, the station 200 then determines, in
step 310, whether the currently connected WiFi network is in the
relationship database. As described above, each WiFi network will
have a unique identification (e.g., BSSID) and the station 200 will
know the identification of the network to which it is connected.
Thus, the station 200 may compare the BSSID of the currently
connected WiFi network to the BSSIDs that are stored in the
relationship database.
[0028] FIG. 4 shows a first exemplary table 400 that is
representative of an relationship database with respect to the
network arrangement 100. It should be noted that the table 400 is
not fully populated for all the WiFi networks shown in the network
arrangement 100. The table 400 includes an identification of the
WiFi network 410 (e.g., BSSID), any related cells 420 (e.g., Cell
IDs) and any credential information 430 for the station to access
the WiFi network (e.g., User ID and password). In this example, the
BSSIDs of the WiFi networks 120, 130, 135 and 150 are stored in the
relationship database. Thus, in step 310, if the station 200 is
connected to one of these WiFi networks, the method will continue
to step 320.
[0029] However, if the station 200 is connected to one of the WiFi
networks 125, 140, 145 that are not currently in the relationship
database 400, the station 200, in step 315, will add the BSSID
(column 410) and the credential information (column 430) to the
relationship database 400. It should be noted that the station 200
may offer the user a choice as to whether to store the BSSID and
credential information in the relationship database 400. For
example, the user may decide that it is highly unlikely that the
user will ever join this WiFi network again and elect not to store
the information for the WiFi network. On the other hand, the WiFi
network information may be stored automatically without user
interaction. The station 200 may resolve the issue of infrequently
or never reused WiFi networks by periodically purging the
relationship database 400 based on connection dates/times. For
example, the relationship database 400 may include a further field
in which it is recorded each time the station 200 connects to (or
disconnects from) the WiFi network. The record for a WiFi network
may be purged if this field becomes older than some predetermined
time period (e.g., a week, a month, a quarter, etc.). At the
completion of step 315, the method continues to step 320. Thus,
whether the WiFi network was newly populated or previously
populated into the relationship database, the method continues to
step 320.
[0030] In step 320, station 200 determines the related cells (e.g.,
cell IDs) that should be populated into the column 420 of the
relationship database for the WiFi network. In one exemplary
embodiment, when the station 200 is connected to the WiFi network,
the WiFi chip 235 retrieves the cell ID from the cellular chip 240
to store in the relationship database 500. It should be noted that
the cell ID may be from the cell that the station 200 is currently
camped or may also be any other cell that the cellular chip 240 is
currently receiving (e.g., the cellular chip is receiving a signal
from the cell ID, even if it is not camped on that cell ID).
[0031] Referring to FIG. 1, it may be that station 200 is currently
in location area 155 and connected to WiFi network 120. When in
area 155, the station 200 is camped on (or is receiving signals)
from cell 105. The WiFi chip 235 will retrieve this information
from the cellular chip 240, i.e., that the station is receiving
signals from cell 105, and in step 325, will store this information
in the relationship database 400 as shown in column 420 for the
entry of the WiFi network 120. As shown in the entries for WiFi
networks 135 and 150, there may be multiple cells related with a
WiFi network and the identities of each of these cells are stored
in the relationship database 400. It is also noted that the steps
320 and 325 are performed even for the WiFi networks that have
their entries previously populated because the relations may change
over time. At the completion of the method 300, the relationship
database 400 will be updated and complete with respect to the WiFi
network with which the station 200 is currently connected.
[0032] FIG. 5 shows a second exemplary table 500 that is
representative of an relationship database with respect to the
network arrangement 100. The table shows the relationship database
500 if it were fully populated for the network arrangement 100. As
described above, the relationship database may not be fully
populated at all times (or ever) and the station 200 may perform
the method 300 to continuously populate and update the relationship
database.
[0033] In the examples of FIGS. 4 and 5, the relationship database
may indicate that the WiFi network 120 is only related with the
cell 105 and has related credential information ID1 and PW1. In
another example, the WiFi network 135 is related with the cell 105
and the cell 110. In a further example, the WiFi network 150 is
related with all the cells 105-115. This relation information for
the WiFi networks 120-150 may be used as the basis for determining
the coarse location estimate as will be described in greater detail
below.
[0034] It should be noted that the station 200 generating the
relationship database is only exemplary. In another example, a
populated relationship database may be received periodically from a
remote source. In a further example, a proprietary network
component that is properly accessed (via the Internet from a
connection to one of the cells 105-115 or the WiFi networks
120-150) may provide WiFi network location and/or cell location
information. The locations may be mapped to tag each WiFi network
identity (e.g., BSSID) with corresponding cell identities such that
the station 200 may populate the relationship database using the
information from the proprietary network component. In yet another
example, the relationship database may be generated based upon a
combination of the station 200 generating some portion of the
entries as well as from the information from the remote source.
[0035] When the station 200 solely generates the relationship
database, the relationship database will only include those WiFi
networks to which the station 200 has previously connected. When
the relationship database is received from a remote source, it is
possible that the relationship database may include WiFi networks
to which the station 200 has never connected. The remote source may
send the relationship database or an update to the relationship
database based on a number of factors. For example, when the
station 200 is taken to a new geographic location, the remote
source may send relation information for all known public WiFi
networks in the geographic locations because it may be likely that
the station will connect to these public WiFi networks.
[0036] It should further be noted that the use of the identities of
only the cells 105-115 is only exemplary. Those skilled in the art
will understand that identity information of other types of
networks that are available and discovered may also be used to
further optimize the manner in which the scan is to be performed.
In a first example, the types of cells may be used as a more
defined manner of identifying the area. In a second example, a
non-cellular network identity may be used in conjunction with cell
identities. In a third example, other WiFi network identities may
be used in conjunction with other discovered network identities.
Specifically, it is not uncommon for an enterprise WiFi network to
be available in a building. The building may include other
enterprise WiFi networks. Thus, the discovered WiFi networks and
the discovered cells may be used in conjunction with each other to
determine the scanning manner to be used.
[0037] Using the above-described method, the relationship database
may be generated for use by the WiFi chip 235 to perform a
subsequent scan. In the examples described herein, two types of
scans will be described. The first type of scan may be a frequent
and/or comprehensive frequency scan. For example, the scanning may
be comprehensive in that it is performed over all the supported
channels (e.g., 35 channels) in the 2.4 GHz range and the 5 GHz
range corresponding to WiFi networks. The scanning may be frequent
in that it is performed every 45 seconds. However, it should be
noted that the exact time period in which the scanning is performed
is not important. Generally, the time period for the first type of
scan is more frequent than the second type of scan. This first type
of scan may be performed when it is likely that a known WiFi
network will be found. For example, as the user is approaching
their home WiFi network, this first type of more frequent scan may
be utilized so that when the station is within the range of the
home WiFi, the station will be automatically connected to the home
WiFi.
[0038] The second type of scan may be an occasional and/or selected
frequency scan. Specifically, the scanning may be selected in that
it is performed only over selected channels (e.g., channels 1, 6,
and 11) in the 2.4 Ghz and/or 5 GHz range corresponding to WiFi
networks. The scanning may be occasional in that it is performed
less often than the first type of scan. For example, as described
above, the first type of scan may be performed every 45 seconds but
the second type of scan may use a period of 135 seconds. That is,
the time period of the second type of scan is greater than the time
period used in the first type of scan. This type of scan may be
performed when it is less likely that a known WiFi network will be
found. For example, the user of the station may be in transit
between work and home in a location that is near neither of these
locations that include a known WiFi network. The cell on which the
station is currently camped may not have any related known WiFi
networks and therefore it is unlikely that a known WiFi network
will be found and the second, less frequent, type of scan may be
used.
[0039] FIG. 6 shows an exemplary method 600 for determining the
type of scan for WiFi networks that will be performed by the
station 200. The method 600 will be described with reference to the
network arrangement 100 of FIG. 1, the station 200 of FIG. 2 and
the relationship database 500 of FIG. 5. Thus, it will be assumed
for the purposes of describing method 600 that the relationship
database is fully populated for the network arrangement 100.
However, it should be understood that it is not necessary for the
relationship database to be fully populated in order for method 600
to be performed.
[0040] The station 200 and its components perform the method 600.
It will generally be described that the WiFi chip 235 and the
cellular chip 240 are performing the described steps. However,
other components of the station 200 may be involved in performing
the steps, such as the processor 205 and the memory arrangement
210.
[0041] In step 605, the station 200 identifies the available cells.
For example, the station 200 may be located in area 170. In this
case, the station 200, specifically, cellular chip 240, will
identify cells 105 and 110 as available to the station. The cell
monitoring functionality to determine identities of available cells
may be a process that is passively monitored based upon the
platform, software/hardware implementation, etc. Thus, the
exemplary embodiments may not require any additional overhead in
terms of power consumption for this functionality because the
cellular chip 240, in its normal operation, may be performing this
monitoring. As described above, the cells that are identified are
not limited to only the cell on which the station 200 is currently
camped, but may include any cell with which the station 200 may
currently communicate, regardless of whether the station 200 has
selected to communicate with a particular cell.
[0042] In step 610, the station 200 may determine if any entry in
the relationship database includes the identified cells. In this
example, the identified cells are cells 105 and 110. This
determination may be made in different manners. In a first example,
the cellular chip 240 may identify the cells and compare the
identified cells with the relationship database 500 that may be
stored in the memory arrangement 210. If there is a match, the
cellular chip 240 may inform the WiFi chip 235 that the station has
entered a cell of interest, e.g., a cell that has at least one
related WiFi network according to the relationship database 500.
The cellular chip 240 may inform the WiFi chip 235 via the UART
245. When the WiFi chip 235 receives the indication of the cell of
interest, the WiFi chip may be awakened and perform the scan in
accordance with process described below.
[0043] In another example, the WiFi chip 235 may actively monitor
the cells identified by the cellular chip 240. In this example, the
WiFi chip 235 will compare the identified cells to the relationship
database 500 to determine if there are any WiFi networks related to
the identified cell(s). Thus, the result of step 610 will either be
that an identified cell has an related WiFi network or there is no
WiFi network related to the identified cell.
[0044] Continuing with the above example of the station 200 being
located in area 170 with identified cells 105 and 110, the
comparison of these cell IDs to the relationship database 500
indicates that there are six (6) related WiFi networks.
Specifically, WiFi network 120 (cell 105), WiFi network 125 (cell
110), WiFi network 135 (cells 105 and 110), WiFi network 140 (cell
105), WiFi network 145 (cell 110) and WiFi network 150 (cells 105
and 110).
[0045] Thus, the result of the step 610 in this example is the
positive identification of an related WiFi network with the
identified cells. The method will then proceed to step 615 where
the WiFi chip will perform the first type of scan. As described
above, the first type of scan is a more frequent, more
comprehensive type of scan. This first type of scan is performed
because it is more likely that a known WiFi network will be found
in the current location of the station 200. Specifically, the
coarse location that is identified by the cell coverage indicates
that a known WiFi network is in the area of this coarse location
determination. Thus, the station 200 will scan more frequently for
WiFi networks because there is a higher likelihood of finding a
known WiFi network.
[0046] On the other hand, if there is no related WiFi network with
the identified cells in step 610, the method 600 will proceed to
step 620 where the second type of scan will be performed. As
described above, the second type of scan is a less frequent, less
comprehensive scan as compared to the first type of scan. This
second type of scan is performed because it is less likely that a
known WiFi network will be found in the current location of the
station 200. Specifically, the coarse location that is identified
by the cell coverage indicates that there are no known WiFi
networks in the area of this coarse location determination. Thus,
the station 200 will scan less frequently and less comprehensively
because this will save battery power over the first type of scan
when there is a lower likelihood of finding a known WiFi
network.
[0047] The WiFi chip 235 may have a default setting of the second
type of scan, i.e., the less frequent, less comprehensive type of
scan. That is, the default mode of operation may be that the WiFi
chip will awake to perform the second type of scan based on the
period of the second type of scan. Once the station enters into a
cell of interest, the WiFi chip 235 may change to a mode where the
first type of scan is performed, i.e., the more frequent, more
comprehensive type of scan.
[0048] After the type of scan has been selected, the method
proceeds to step 625 where it is determined whether a WiFi network
has been found. More specifically, the selected scan type (at the
set period) may be performed for the entire time the station 200 is
in the identified cell or until a WiFi network has been detected by
the scan. If no WiFi network has been detected the method 600
proceeds back to step 605 to determine the identified cells.
[0049] If a WiFi network has been found, the station 200, will
attempt to automatically connect to the found WiFi network in step
630. As described above, it is more likely that a known WiFi
network will be found when the first type of scan is being
performed because the station 200 is in a location associated with
a known WiFi network. However, it is possible that a known WiFi
network may be found when performing the second type of scan. When
the WiFi chip 235 identifies a known network in step 625, the WiFi
chip 235 may wake the processor 205 to connect to an access point
of the WiFi network. As described above, this connection may be an
automatic connection because the relationship database will include
the credential information for the known WiFi network and the
station 200 may provide this credential information without any
action required by the user.
[0050] To complete the example started above, the station 200
identified six known WiFi networks in step 610. Thus, in this
example, the method will proceed to step 615 where the station 200
will perform the first type of scan. It may be assumed that that
station 200 found at least one of the known WiFi networks that are
associated with the coarse location of cells 105 and 110. Since in
the example, the station 200 was located in area 170, it is likely
that the scan will detect WiFi network 135 and possibly other WiFi
networks. If WiFi network 135 is the only WiFi network that is
detected, the station 200 will attempt to connect to the WiFi
network 135. The detection of WiFi network 135 includes the
detection of the beacon from WiFi network 135 that includes the
BSSID. The station 200 may refer to the relationship database 500
that includes an entry for the WiFi network 135. The station 200
may then use the stored credential information for this WiFi
network 135 to attempt an automatic connection.
[0051] It should be noted that the station 200 may detect more than
one known WiFi network during the scans. In the example above,
there were six (6) possible networks that were related to the cells
that were identified. Thus, in the example, there is a possibility
that the scans may detect multiple WiFi networks. The station 200
may be configured to automatically select one of these known WiFi
networks, for example, based upon previous connection information.
Thus, if a particular discovered, known WiFi network is selected
more often than another discovered, known WiFi network, the station
200 may use this information for a corresponding action to be
performed. In another example, the station 200 may select the WiFi
network that has the best operating characteristics (e.g., highest
RSSI, etc.).
[0052] It should also be noted that the method 600 for selecting
the type of scan that will be performed is typically associated
with a time period when the station 200 is not currently connected
to a WiFi network. That is, when the station 200 is connected to a
WiFi network, there is little reason to scan and automatically
connect to another WiFi network. This does not mean that the method
600 cannot be performed when the station 200 is connected to a WiFi
network. For example, there could be a situation where the station
determines that the operating characteristics of a connected WiFi
network are deteriorating (e.g., RSSI goes below a threshold,
throughput goes below a threshold, etc.). When the station 200
detects these deteriorating characteristics, the station 200 may
initiate the method 200 to detect and automatically connect to a
different WiFi network before disconnecting from the current WiFi
network.
[0053] The above exemplary embodiments provide a station and method
for determining a scanning manner to be used in discovering WiFi
networks based upon a coarse location estimate which is determined
as a function of relation information with cells. The relation
information may be determined prior to determining the scanning
manner and stored in a database. When one or more identities of
cells are found from a monitoring functionality, a WiFi network
that has relation-information including these discovered cells may
be determined. If such an relation exists, a relatively more
aggressive and/or comprehensive scanning manner may be used to
discover available WiFi networks whereas if no such WiFi network
exists, a relatively more infrequent and/or selected scanning
manner may be used. The exemplary embodiments result in dynamically
increasing the frequency of WiFi scans when the user is, for
example, arriving home or at the office where a known WiFi network
may exist. The identity of the related cells that serve the home or
office may provide the basis for the coarse location estimate. On
the other hand, the exemplary embodiments reduce the frequency of
scans when the user leaves the home or office and connects to a
cellular network that is not included in the relation information
of the known WiFi networks. Accordingly, power may be used to
perform a WiFi scan that is more likely to result in discovering a
known WiFi network in which an automatic connection may be
performed. Less power may also be used to perform a WiFi scan that
is less likely to result in discovering a known WiFi network.
[0054] Those skilled in the art will understand that the
above-described exemplary embodiments may be implemented in any
suitable software or hardware configuration or combination thereof.
An exemplary hardware and software platform for implementing the
exemplary embodiments may include, for example, a hardware device
that operates the iOS operating system, a hardware device that
operates the Android operating system, a hardware device that
operates a Windows operating system etc. In a further example, the
exemplary embodiments of the above described method may be embodied
as a program containing lines of code stored on a non-transitory
computer readable storage medium that, when compiled, may be
executed on a processor or microprocessor.
[0055] It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various
modifications may be made in the present invention, without
departing from the spirit or the scope of the invention. Thus, it
is intended that the present invention cover modifications and
variations of this invention provided they come within the scope of
the appended claims and their equivalent.
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